Bhubaneswar , India -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- -LSB- Breaking news update 12:09 a.m. -RSB-

There have been at least four confirmed deaths from Tropical Cyclone Phailin , Amitabh Thakor , deputy inspector general of Brahmapur , Odisha , told CNN . Three were killed Saturday ; a fourth was confirmed dead Sunday . Local police told CNN 's sister network in India , CNN-IBN , that seven people had been killed by falling trees .

-LSB- Last update at 10:24 p.m. -RSB-

In morning light , India assesses damage from Cyclone Phailin

-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Morning light on Sunday revealed some of the damage from Tropical Cyclone Phailin , which made landfall on India 's eastern coast as the strongest storm to hit India in 14 years .

Power lines and trees were down and cars were overturned near the spot where the center of the storm struck the coast around 9 p.m. -LRB- 11:30 a.m. ET -RRB- Saturday in eastern Odisha state , along the Bay of Bengal .

Debris littered wet streets , roofs were torn off houses and windows on buildings were smashed in Brahmapur .

Odisha 's director-general of police , Prakash Mishra , told CNN that two men and a woman were killed by trees brought down by heavy winds in the state . Local police in Odisha told CNN 's sister network in India , CNN-IBN , that seven people had been killed by falling trees .

Hurricanes are known as cyclones in the Indian Ocean , and the wind speed at landfall -- 140 mph -- made it equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane .

India evacuated more than a half-million people in advance of the storm , hoping to avoid a repetition of what happened 1999 , when a cyclone claimed 10,000 lives .

`` We have taken a zero-casualty approach , '' said Odisha state disaster manager Kamal Lochan Mishra . `` If people do not move , force will be used to evacuate them . ''

Since Friday , Phailin has brought nearly 8 inches of rain to Odisha 's capital of Bhubaneswar , about 30 miles from the coast . The city 's average rainfall for October is 6.5 inches .

The storm will continue to fall apart as it moves over land , but tropical-storm-force winds are still possible through early Monday , said CNN Meteorologist Judson Jones . Rainfall will also be a problem as Phailin moves up toward the Himalayas in Nepal .

Multiple states in the region were under weather warnings for excessive rainfall and thunderstorms for most of Sunday and into Monday , Jones said .

500,000 people evacuated

Residents were evacuated to safer places in Odisha and the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh , national disaster-management authority chief Marri Shashidhar Reddy said .

More than 400,000 were moved to safety in Odisha alone , he told CNN .

Many of those evacuated from low-lying coastal areas of Odisha left on foot or by bicycle , Kamal Lochan Mishra said .

They are being housed in nearly 250 emergency shelters set up in sturdy buildings like schools and government offices .

The Ganjam district of Odisha is expected to be the worst hit , with disaster preparedness efforts concentrated there , CNN-IBN reported .

The India Meteorological Department warned of extensive damage to kutcha houses , those made of flimsy materials like mud and bamboo , as well as damage to old buildings .

Power and communication lines are likely to suffer large-scale disruption . Extensive flooding will also disrupt rail and road traffic , and crops are likely to suffer major damage , it said .

In Gopalpur , a coastal resort town in Ganjam , restaurants were shuttered and streets deserted Saturday afternoon , as rain lashed down . Tourists and local residents were asked to leave the town .

Power was out in coastal areas including Kalingapatnam , from where about 80,000 people were evacuated to relief camps , CNN-IBN reported . Some fishermen earlier told the broadcaster they had defied the order to leave , anxious to see what happened on the shore .

Military deployed

Some fear a repeat of what happened on October 29 , 1999 , when Cyclone 05B , also known as the Odisha Cyclone , made landfall in the same area , killing 10,000 people . It was the strongest tropical cyclone recorded in the Bay of Bengal , with winds of 155 mph at landfall , and it caused more than $ 2 billion in damage .

In advance of the storm , military units and National Disaster Response Force personnel were deployed to coastal areas with relief supplies and medical aid , CNN-IBN said . More than 20 medical teams flew to the region .

Federal and state government ministers are being briefed on the situation , the cabinet secretary said .

All flights to Odisha have been canceled and train services in the state are also disrupted , CNN 's sister network reported .

Disaster preparedness

International humanitarian organization World Vision said it was helping local community groups prepare for the cyclone 's arrival .

`` In a storm of this magnitude there is the potential for widespread damage to crops and livestock in the low-lying coastal areas and houses completely wiped away , '' said Kunal Shah , the head of World Vision 's emergency response in India . `` So while we are praying this storm loses intensity , we 're also preparing . ''

The organization has worked for the past several years to train local people in disaster preparedness -- including search and rescue , basic first aid and how to protect livestock -- and has thousands of emergency response kits ready to hand out where needed .

`` We believe communities are better prepared than they were when the devastating cyclone hit in 1999 , '' said Shah .

CNN 's Lonzo Cook reported from Bhubaneswar and Harmeet Shah Singh from New Delhi and Laura Smith-Spark wrote and reported in London . CNN 's Khushbu Shah , Tom Sater and Ivan Cabrera contributed to this report .

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Power lines and trees are down , cars are overturned

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Nearly 8 inches of rain falls in Bhubaneswar since Friday

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The cyclone made landfall at 9 p.m. -LRB- 11:30 a.m. ET -RRB-

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More than 500,000 people are evacuated , a disaster official says